The golden apple snail Pomacea canaliculata was introduced from Florida and Latin American to Taiwan in the early 1980s to start an escargot industry. The snail’s fast The golden apple snail was introduced from Florida and Latin America to Taiwan (Province of China) and the Philippines in the early 1980s by private snail farmers hoping to reap big profits exporting snails to Europe. Easy to rear and fast breeding, the snail's high protein content also apparently made it an ideal supplement to the low-protein diet of the rural poor. Unfortunately, the snails were not a success with consumers, and although they were initially expensive, their market value soon plummeted.